KEARNS, Utah — Christian Timothy is one of two siblings who survived a horrific murder-suicide that claimed the life of their mother, Kaylene Allred.
Now recovering from gunshot wounds, he is opening up about his path toward healing and the emotional weight he carries. “The people who I’m staying with are constantly like, ‘You need to rest, you need to take it easy,’ and I can’t,” Christian said. “I have to be doing something to keep my mind busy… It’s gonna be a long road.”
That long road began with a phone call. Christian was speaking with his friend Tricia Cruikshank when chaos erupted inside his home in Kearns.
“I was like, ‘What’s going on? What happened?” Tricia recalled. “He’s like, ‘He shot me, he shot me.’”
Watch: Man kills wife, shoots stepchildren in Kearns murder-suicide
Christian says his stepdad, 64-year-old Floyd Allred, came up behind him and opened fire. “It didn’t dawn on me until probably the second or third bullet hit me that he was shooting at me,” Christian said. “At that point, it was just about taking cover and getting him away from my family.”
Both Christian and his sister, Brittany, were shot but managed to escape that night. Investigators say Floyd Allred killed 61-year-old Kaylene Allred before taking his own life.
Christian revealed that he had long feared such an outcome. “The sad truth is, for the past year I’ve feared that something like this was coming,” he said, explaining that his stepdad struggled with addiction and mental health. “I even expressed my concern to my dad that he was losing it… His addiction took over.”
As Christian heals from his physical injuries and prepares funeral services, he admits grief comes in waves. “It hasn’t fully set in yet,” Christian said. “There are moments where I think, ‘Oh I can ask my mom, oh I want to call my mom… and I can’t.’ It even feels that way with my dad, too. No matter how mad I am over the situation, he was still my dad.”
Friends, neighbors, and supporters are rallying behind the siblings. A fundraiser will be held at Liquid Joe’s in Salt Lake City on April 26 at 1:00 p.m., with all proceeds going toward mental health awareness and victims of domestic violence.
A GoFundMe has also been launched for anyone wishing to help: Support Brittany & Christian After Shooting
Christian says his mother was a warrior in life. “She went through so much in her life that she didn’t deserve, and she fought so hard for us kids,” he said. “We tried to save her, and she tried to save us… it cost her a life.”
